Reform royal institution to ensure it stays relevant, says IIUM law lecturer

IPOH: The royal institution must be reformed to ensure that it stays relevant, says International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) law lecturer Associate Professor Dr Shamrahayu Ab Aziz.

She said the institution was enshrined in the Federal Constitution but, recently, certain quarters, especially youths, had questioned its role.

“The people can’t see what it is that the royals do. As such, this institution needs to be reformed to ensure that it stays relevant,” she said at the 40th Malaysia History Polemics Council at the Ipoh Training Industrial Institute, here, today.

“For me, to ensure that we follow the democratic system in the country, the royal institution should be reformed too.

“Have you heard of the Conference of Rulers? Do the rakyat know what is the outcome of the conference? In the conference, a number of memoranda are submitted. Do the people know that?

“I believe it’s no longer a secret that the younger generation, regardless of their ethnicity, have used social media platforms to vent their frustration as they want to abolish the monarchy. For them, the royals just waste the people’s money and should be abolished.”

As such, Shamrahayu said, there should be synergy between the royal institution and the government, and the former should give more space to the government, especially over matters connected to Islam.

National Archives director-general Datuk Azemi Abdul Aziz Azemi said the objective of the event was to instill awareness of the importance of knowledge of the country’s history and to function as a platform for educationist to present and discuss their research work.